Percy and Simpson put friendship on the line as they go in search of Olympic gold

Conventional wisdom says you should never go into business with your best friend.

That no relationship will ever be the same again when there’s so much at stake.

But what about when the end game is Olympic gold, what then?

Happily, as Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson will testify, the two can go hand in hand with spectacular results.

Tackling the waves: Ian Percy and Andrew Simpson are preparing for the Olympics

The pair swept to victory in Beijing four years ago in the oldest of the sailing classes, the Star. It was a story that had been more than two decades in the making.

‘We met 25 years ago at an Under 16 championships,’ Percy explains. ‘We were the only 10-year-olds there and it was too windy to go on the water so we sat and played Lego together.’

At the time, Percy was living in Southampton while Simpson hailed from London and the two were soon competing in events up and down the country.

‘We were sailing in Optimists which were like bath tubs,’ Percy adds. ‘You can sail them in any conditions so they are a good learning platform for youngsters.

Going for Gold: Andrew Simpson and Iain Percy hope to repeat the success they had in Beijing four years ago

‘You can buy an Optimist for the price of a tennis racket and race up to quite a high level with it. The entry level boat is quite cheap and after that the British Sailing Association removes the barriers with funding programmes; it is far more accessible than people realise.

‘If you look at the Olympic make up, it’s not all people from public schools, there is a mix of different backgrounds.’

The duo were soon racing for the British team (Simpson acknowledges that he often trailed in behind his friend) and when they were both 16, they began to realise they had a knack for the sport when they were dominating the Under 19 age group.

But unlike fellow Brit Ben Ainslie, who Simpson claims they beat at youth level, the pair had not yet committed to the sport full time. While Ainslie was winning gold in Atlanta in 1996, Simpson and Percy were studying economics at University College London and Bristol University respectively.

Golden boys: Iain Percy (left) and Andrew Simpson celebrate after winning a Gold Medal in the Star class at the 2008 Beijing Olympics

After graduating in 1998, their sights were set on the Sydney Olympics in 2000. As in their youth, Percy beat Simpson in the trial to clinch the only spot in the Finn class for Australia.

‘When I qualified for the Games in 2000, Andrew was second in the trial, basically second best in the world, but we only send one per country,’ Percy acknowledges. ‘He gave up a year and a half to come and be my training partner; and this was before you got paid to do so.

‘He was there all the way through the Olympics, helping me read the winds from the cliffs around Sydney and sending down messages on the radio to the coach. We were a real partnership even when we were in single handed boats.’

And the partnership worked as Percy won gold with Simpson watching on.

‘I wasn’t jealous,’ the latter insists. ‘It made me want to be doing it myself, but I wasn’t jealous.

‘I was excited. To see one of your best friends win a gold medal is pretty cool.’

‘It was quite a big night if I remember correctly!’ Percy chimes.

Performing down under: Percy and Simpson compete in the Star Men's Keelboat in Australia

Fast forward four years and Percy was competing in Athens while Simpson was once again on the sidelines.

‘I sailed the Finn against Ben Ainslie and sadly didn’t qualify again, which was quite frustrating,’ Simpson admits. ‘To be second best in the world but not qualify... I did wonder what I was doing to be fair.

‘In the long term you learn lot from it, particularly the physcology of sailing against people who are quite ruthless. I think it helped me personally going into China with how you deal with the opposition. You sail against some people who are just out to f*** you, and not necessarily people from other countries.

‘When I sailed against Ben it made me realise how much of a mental game it can be. You can’t let them get to you in the head. I wasn’t even going to train in Athens with Ben but I went there and helped him. I’d done it before and wasn’t sure I wanted to do it again but it’s still rewarding when he wins.’

Meanwhile, Percy teamed up with Steve Mitchell in the Star class but struggled to a sixth-place finish.

He admits that the pairing was inherently flawed.

Olympic hopefuls: The Team GB Sailors who will compete at London 2012

‘He’s a great guy but we shared weaknesses and Athens turned out to have no wind and that was my weakness, and his,’ Percy concedes.

‘It was the toughest decision I had to make to stop sailing with a mate. We don’t do this for the money, it’s a passion so to stop with Steve was really difficult but it turned out to be right decision as I had an old mate who was at the top of his game.

‘I was sailing with Andrew in the professional team and realised I needed someone with his light wind skills to cover me and it was a fantastic move, we had a great run into China.’

That great run continued in Beijing as the best friends fought hard to win gold.

‘I was definitely confident we’d get a medal and that if we sailed well, we’d win,’ Simpson says.

‘I personally had never worked as hard for a competition in my life,’ Percy adds. ‘For the first time in my life, the cliché of ‘you’ve worked hard so you deserve it’, was true.

‘That does subconsciously take the pressure off when you think you’ve done everything you can. You’ve got no regrets.’

For Simpson, the years of sacrifice had finally paid off.

‘You don’t think about it like that though,’ he claims. ‘I’d won with one of my best friends and you can’t beat that.

‘It didn’t sink in because the nine months beforehand were so tough. We worked so hard but at the time it just feels like another race. Afterwards you reflect on it and you feel pleased with how it has gone.’

Lifelong friends: Percy and Simpson have been friends for over 25 years

As for going into business with a best friend, the reigning Olympic champions have re-written the rule book.

‘We do it in a different way to the others, we’re much more of a partnership,’ explains Simpson.

‘Other people don’t put as much weight on the second guy in the boat, traditionally called the crew, but we are a partnership and don’t really work in that way.

‘It gives us a real advantage because I can concentrate on the speed and Andrew on the tactics or the other way round. If we didn’t have the confidence in the other guy being a good tactician it would be difficult. It makes for a lot of work on the communication side of things but it is a lot better.

‘There are tense moments but we’ve known each other for so long now, we’re like brothers. We can have an argument and then just get on with it. You have to analyse and work on the communication and how we deal with being frustrated.

Flying the flag: Percy and Simpson (top of the steps) pose with the other gold medal winners after the Beijing Games

‘We’ve ended up having quite a robust friendship. We go through some rough times but you learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses and when they need building up. You don’t necessarily get that just being friends in life.

‘When you’re friends and race at the highest level, it’s a very different relationship to when we go for a beer, but it’s definitely an advantage being friends. If we weren’t we wouldn’t be able to tackle the difficult subjects and work through them. It’s not easy, no sporting relationship is, especially when there is this so much communication, shared roles and responsibilities.

‘If it was a purely physical sport it might be a bit easier but even then you’re living out of each other’s pockets. But that side of things has never been hard when you’ve been doing it for 20 years on the circuit. It’s the racing that’s hard.’

Percy and Simpson’s sights are now set on defending their title in London but the former’s back injury led to the team’s withdrawal from the World Championships earlier this year.

‘We’re trying to catch up with the opposition who have got ahead of us,’ Percy concludes. ‘They’ve all stayed full time whereas we can’t. They have better funding and more sponsors. We do have good funding but it’s spread thinly.

‘They don’t have a squad of 70 in Brazil, they fund five and do so very well. That’s how they operate.

‘We have a lot of improvements to make both in ourselves and in the equipment. It’s nice to know we have a lot of improvements to make and I know that we’ll work very hard.’

Iain Percy and Andrew Simpson are sponsored by investment specialist Skandia and sail as part of Skandia Team GBR, Britain’s sailing team in the Olympic and Paralympic classes. For more, go to www.skandiateamgbr.com